Love In Disguise
by snapefan520
Summary: Hermione has been single for over six months, and after a series of disastrous dates, all she wants is a one night stand. But things don't quite work out the way she had planned. Post DH, EWE. Rated T for innuendo and language.


_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing and anything your recognise belongs to the talented J K Rowling.**_

_**This is a gift for my beta Meladara, and my my oft-cheerleaders CRMediaGal and onecelestialbeing. This was supposed to be my first PWP, but thanks to my muse, it took a life of it's own. For one thing, there is a plot. And after you read, you can figure the rest out.**_

* * *

Hermione Granger watched her reflection in the mirror bubble and shift as the Polyjuice took effect. Her nose elongated slightly, and her porcelain skin became more olive toned. The wild curls straightened out and lightened to a honey brown. Her figure had pretty much stayed the same, but that was fine with her; it just saved her from having to transfigure her clothes.

She walked out of the bathroom and began to search for clothes appropriate for her outing. It had been almost six months since she had broken up with Ron, and she was desperate for a shag. She had tried meeting Wizards either on her own at a bar, or had gone on blind dates set up by friends. But her dates were always so in awe of her status as part of the _Golden Trio_ that she usually ended the date before the topic of shagging could ever come up. They had either put her up on a pedestal, wanting to marry her, or lied through their teeth in hopes of impressing the war heroine just for bragging rights. She just wanted a no strings night of very good sex. Hell, at this point, she'd even take an hour of lackluster sex.

She quickly pulled on a pair of tight fitting jeans, and put on a top that emphasized her slightly bigger breasts. She walked to the bathroom and started to rummage through a drawer for her rarely used cosmetics. Normally she would just put on a spot of lip gloss, but she reached past it and grabbed a tube of cherry red lipstick. After putting on the lipstick and some smoky gray eyeshadow, she Apparated to Diagon Alley.

As she left Diagon Alley and walked into Muggle London, she started browsing the downtown buildings for an acceptable pub. She found one only a few minutes walk from Charing Cross Road, and proceeded to the bar. Although she preferred wine, she ordered a Cornish Ale and started to sip on it while she slowly cast her gaze around the room.

Casually observing the patrons, she was disheartened to find none that were unattached or under fifty. But she had not even drank half of her ale, so she would at least stay until she had finished.

One hour and another pint later, she stared at the clock hanging on the wall near the bar. _Six months and counting._ She sighed and then asked the bartender for her bill.

As she started to slide off the bar stool, not so gracefully due to the two drinks she had already consumed, she felt a hand gently tap her on the shoulder.

"You aren't leaving already, are you? I haven't even bought you a drink yet, Miss...," and he let the sentence trail off as he waited for her to offer her name.

"Gray," she rolled her eyes slightly as she spoke. _What a cliché pick up line_, she thought to herself. She finally turned all the way around and took a good look at him. He had dark brown hair, and was probably in his mid thirties, if she had to guess. He had a nice, somewhat thin, build and a friendly face. He wasn't overly handsome, but he would do.

He had noticed her eye roll, and then blushed faintly before he spoke to the bartender. "Two of what she's drinking." He stared at her for just a moment, before shaking his head slightly as he smiled. "That wasn't my best line. Let me try again. I'm Stephen, and it is nice to meet you Miss Gray."

"Likewise, Stephen. And you can call me Monica." She picked up the glass in front of her and took a sip before speaking again. "I agree, you do need to work on your pickup lines. That was atrocious." She took another sip and smiled at him. "You don't do this very often, do you?"

He blushed again, and she found that she really liked the faint red tinge on his face.

"No, actually this is my first time. In a bar that is." He shook his head and blushed once again. "I mean picking up a woman in a bar."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at him. He obviously did not date much, and his nervousness was a welcome change from her previous dates.

"So Stephen, what do you do for a living?" She knew that it was another cliché line to use, but she had to get him past his nervousness.

He sipped on his ale and then turned slightly towards her before speaking. "I'm a teacher. I teach chemistry at a private school."

"Really? I love chemistry. Tell me more about yourself, Stephen," and she turned towards him and settled in for a long conversation.

-ooOOoo-

It was two in the morning when Hermione Apparated into her flat. She walked towards her bedroom and quickly started changing into her bed clothes. She had talked to Stephen for more than three hours, and the evening ended when he kissed her on the cheek as they both left the bar. They didn't have sex, and for some reason, she was perfectly fine with that.

* * *

Hermione watched herself transform into Monica once again. She sighed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had now been seeing Stephen for almost a month, and they still had not had sex. Her one night stand had somehow turned into a relationship, and she was starting to hate herself for the dishonesty. She was torn between telling Stephen the truth or ending it with him.

In one month, she had become closer to Stephen than she had in three years with Ron. She seemed to have so much in common with him, despite him being a Muggle. He loved to read as much as she did, and they would spend a good portion of each date discussing books. And when they weren't discussing books, they talked about his teaching or her job working with exotic animals. _If he only knew exactly what exotic animals I work with,_ she snorted slightly to herself as she thought of her job working for the Department of Magical Creatures at the Ministry.

She Apparated to Diagon Alley and then began the short walk towards the pub that they had met at for the past month. She still wasn't sure what she would tell Stephen, but she knew that she would have to talk to him tonight. She was starting to care for him too much to keep lying to him.

As she entered the pub, she looked around and noticed that Stephen was already sitting at a table waiting for her. He motioned towards her, and she walked towards him with a nervous smile on her face.

Her smile faltered as she began to speak. "Stephen, we need to talk."

"Yes, we do." He sighed, then took a slow sip of the drink he was holding. "I haven't been honest with you, and that needs to change starting tonight. But this isn't a conversation we should be having in a pub. Would you be willing to come to my place to talk, or if that makes you uncomfortable, we could go to yours."

"I'd prefer my flat, if that is okay," she replied nervously.

Her mind started to whirl as she thought of all the possible things he could tell her. He could have lied about anything he had told her. Maybe he wasn't really a teacher, but had just told her lines to pick her up. But they still had not had sex, and he seemed far too knowledgeable on the subjects they had discussed. She swallowed harshly as she thought of the most plausible explanation. _Maybe he is married. _

But she had planned on talking with him anyway, so maybe it was just as well that he could possibly be breaking it off with her. How could she be with him when he didn't know the real Hermione? And how could he get to know her, when so much about their dates had been a lie. She worked with exotic creatures that he would never even be able to imagine, and she was a witch and could perform magic. Even the face she had been speaking with the past few weeks was not her own.

She was thankful that she lived in a Muggle part of London as she hailed a taxi. The ten minute drive to her flat had been uncomfortably quiet, and she was thankful to exit the taxi and walk towards her flat. She fumbled with the rarely used keys as she opened the door to her flat, then took a few deep breaths as she tried to mask her nervousness. He took a seat on her sofa as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Would you like some tea?" She asked nervously. "Or perhaps a glass of water?"

"No, I think we should talk before I lose my nerve. Please have a seat," and he motioned to the spot beside him.

"I really like you Monica, and I respect you too much to sleep with you without you knowing the truth. I have thought the past week about breaking things off with you, but on each date I had lost my nerve. You are the first person I have ever been so comfortable with. I really think there could be a possibility for a future between us, but I need to be honest with you before anything else happens between us. But before I tell you any more, I need to know how you feel about me."

She smiled at him, knowing that it must have been difficult to talk to her so honestly. She looked into his dark eyes, and it comforted her to see so much warmth. At that moment, she knew she couldn't lie to him. _Or lie to herself._

"I really like you Stephen. When I first met you, I wasn't interested in a relationship. I'll be honest, I only went to the bar that night looking for a quick shag. I had ended a long term relationship only a few months prior, and wasn't looking to do that again. But once I met you, I realised that we really seemed to have a lot in common. And the more we went out, the more I felt like we had a connection. So to answer you, yes, I could see there being more between us." She put her hand on his knee and squeezed it gently. "I would like there to be more between us."

He seemed to relax more after she had spoken, and then smiled at her.

"What I am going to tell you, you can not repeat to anyone. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded, but her brain was working overtime as she tried to figure out what he might say. Maybe he had a classified job with the government. It would make sense after all the discussions that they had about chemistry. Perhaps it was a top secret job for the military.

She watched as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a long, slender..._wand?_

Before he could even speak, she blurted out "You're a Wizard?"

His eyebrows rose, and his voice raised slightly. "How do you know about Wizards?"

She nodded her head nervously, and then reached into her purse. "I-I'm a witch," she spoke softly as she pulled out her own wand. "I had actually assumed you were a Muggle when I went to the bar." She sighed and then ran her hands nervously through her hair. "So you aren't really a chemistry teacher, are you?"

He gave her a nervous smile before replying. "No, I'm not. But I am a teacher, and I really do like books. Most of what we talked about still was the truth." He slowly rose from the sofa, and started

to walk around the room. "But I don't really look like this. I doubt you would have even given me a second look if I had worn my real face."

"A teacher," she mumbled as she slumped back into the sofa in shock. Her mouth gaped open as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "You teach at Hogwarts, don't you?" She jumped up as if she had been set on fire. "Oh God...it's not chemistry you teach; you teach potions." She looked over at him and watched all the color drain from his face.

"How did you know?" He paused his pacing and took a good look at her. "I was your professor, wasn't I? How is it that I don't recognise you? If you are from around here, you would have had to been my student. You are what, twenty one or twenty two?"

"Twenty one," she replied solemnly. "And yes, you were my professor. You wouldn't recognise me because I have disguised myself as well. Once you know who I am, I expect you will leave and never return. So let me be totally honest with you before I tell you who I am."

"Now that I know you are Severus Snape, that does not change anything for me. You are still the same man that I had dinner with and discussed books with. The same man that told me of a difficult childhood, and the same man that kissed me goodnight as I left." She gently stroked his cheek. "The same man that I am starting to have feelings for."

She took a few steps away from him, and offered a half-hearted smile. "That first night, I had taken Polyjuice so I could go out and not be recognised. I had been on several dates prior to meeting up with you, and all of them ended badly. I just wanted a night of no-strings-attached sex, and no complications. And by disguising myself, I could assure myself of that." She kept on talking, not noticing that her Polyjuice was starting to wear off. "I never had planned on a relationship, and I especially did not set out to deceive you. But once you know who I am, I don't think you will want to continue you this. You never liked me when I was your student, you-," but she was cut off as he leaned into her and started to kiss her.

"I never disliked you, Hermione," he spoke softly as he pulled away from her.

"How did you-," but she stopped as he gently tugged on a curl, and watched it spring back.

"Your Polyjuice wore off almost ten minutes ago. And mine should be wearing off any time now."

"You still want to go out with me? Even though you know who I really am?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I do. Like you have already said, we are still the same people that we were at the pub. Only now we know more about each other. I wasn't lying when I said I could see a future between us. Would you still be willing to try even though I was your professor? Even though I am almost twenty years older than you?"

"Yes, Severus. I meant it when I said I have feelings for you." She pulled him closer, and began to weave her hands through his short brown hair. As her lips touched his, she was pleased when he opened his mouth and allowed her tongue entrance. Their tongues dueled in a sensual battle, and she was unaware as his hair started to lengthen and darken. She slowly pulled away from the passionate kiss, then beamed at him as she took in his appearance.

Gone was Stephen, and in his place was Severus. Although his appearance had changed drastically, the smile on his face had not. His hair was longer than it had been when she was a student, and although he was still very thin, he looked much healthier. And although she had loved Stephen in the tight black jeans and cranberry jumper, looking at Severus in the same clothes had made her mouth water.

She grasped his hand and started to pull him towards the bedroom, and he stopped her right before they got to the bed. "Are you sure about this?" He asked her softly, but had a hungry look in his eyes.

"I've never been more sure of anything," she replied as she pulled him onto the bed.

* * *

She sat at the bar and glanced at the clock one last time. He was late, but she wasn't upset, or even surprised for that matter. He had a Slytherin/Gryffindor class of seventh years as the last class for the day, and more times than not he was having to stay late to issue detentions.

As time passed, she finished her drink and started to get up, when a familiar voice spoke enticingly into her neck.

"You aren't leaving already, are you? I haven't even bought you a drink yet, Miss...,"

She turned towards him and pulled him into a passionate kiss. "Snape. And that is Mrs. Snape," she said seductively, emphasizing the 'Mrs.' "And that line still isn't any better than it was five years ago." She smirked at him as he sat next to her at the bar.

"True, but it worked, didn't it?"

_**A/N...Obviously I failed miserably with my PWP. Not a lemon to be found :) But I was still happy with the result.**_

_**Reviews are always appreciated!**_


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